Many philosophers suggest that happiness is a main goal (if not THE main goal) of human life. Are you striving to realize happiness in your life? Are you currently happy? What would have to happen for you to be truly happy? What could you do to become more happy?

To an extent, I agree that happiness is a ideal goal rather than an actual achievable goal. To be happy, we would have to be satisfied. I cannot imagine someone being truly content. People always want more; greed is a powerful instinct that is a driving force in the world.

I wonder how greed is related to desire. In Buddhism, there is an understanding that desire is the cause of human suffering. The objective, then, is to remove improper desire and eliminate the suffering. Is it possible to eliminate improper desire? What would that be like? Is it something like developing a capacity for disinterestedness - that is - being able to enjoy something without warping that basic enjoyment with an overly-selfish drive (like being able to enjoy a paining of a piece of fruit without actually getting hungry for the fruit)? AND - would I be able to find greater happiness in enjoying the painting of the fruit than I would in fulfilling a personal desire to eat the fruit presented in it?

Happiness is soley dependent on the indiviual person. Different personalities require different variables to keep happy. For some being around lagre groups of people is a better (happier) situation then being around smaller groups of people. It is hard to justify happiness and when you think you are happy you take the time to ask your self are you really happy? Happiness is a mental perception based on what you know and what you think happiness really is.

I think in a sense, everyone is generally happy. Its the world and its issues that threaten this happiness. If one was to live life without any of the worlds problems, then offcourse everyone would be happy, but thats not the way life is. I think everyone chooses whether or not to be happy. Its not inborn or something you pick up, its something you must acquire and learn on your own.

Im neither Happy, nor upset. To be happy for me, requires something out of the ordinary (in a positive, life changing) to occur. People who say they are Happy, may not necessarily be "Happy" however, they are content with what they have, and are currently not in a state of depression, or having unhappy thoughts.

angelam420 wrote:The interpretation of happiness….my own life. No complain about what is going with my things…. Even the world is going crazy!!!Extra Happiness means more days without problems…. Bad moments!!!

So happiness for you is the absence of discomfort, rather than a feeling of contentment?

In response to the question above - I think it is an ideal goal. I don't know what 'complete' happiness would look like. But I do know what fulfillment feels like, and the more often I feel fulfillment, the more I'd be likely to say I'm approaching the ideal of happiness. Holding it as an ideal also helps me get a sense for when I'm not feeling fulfilled so I can work on fixing it. On a separate note - it is interesting to consider the relationship between a feeling of happiness and certain actions. For instance, I feel happier, generally, after a good workout. And I've heard that humans can actually give themselves a greater sense of well-being by smiling. That is - you can make yourself happy simply by smiling... Give it a try someday when you're blue.

I think happiness in whole is a subjective stand, at any given moment something that brought you the greatest joy and pleasure could become the opposite. With that in mind, because we can not truly define the definition of what makes us or others happy, people often times make a great mistake through linking shallow desires to happiness. Me personally, no I’m not happy. I believe if happiness is anything at all it would have to be in correlation to long-term pleasures that bring you closer to achieving what you have decided is your purpose in life. At 21 I’m nowhere near close enough to that "end" in which I have referred to above. That’s not to say I’m miserable in any way, I just have a lot more to accomplish before I can claim bliss.